In January 2013, Governor Cuomo called for the establishment of a $1 billion New York Green Bank to mobilize private sector capital to finance the transition to a more cost-effective, resilient, and clean energy system. The Green Bank will accelerate the deployment of clean energy through a variety of financing tools targeted at alleviating financial market barriers and harnessing capital markets. On September 9, 2013, NYSERDA submitted a petition seeking authorization to reallocate uncommitted EEPS, SBC and RPS funds to provide the initial capitalization of the New York Green Bank and on December 19, 2013, the Commission issued an order granting NYSERDA’s request, providing the Green Bank with $165.6 million to begin its operation.

The primary socioeconomic objectives of the proposed Green Bank are to:

Increase the amount of clean energy deployed for every dollar of state money spent;

Animate capital markets so as to reduce the cost of capital and the need for government support.

Market barriers vary across different technologies and real estate sectors, but there are a number of financing issues that are constraining private capital in the clean energy sector as a whole. The Green Bank would operate on a wholesale level, partnering with intermediaries to alleviate market barriers.

In order to address these barriers, the Green Bank would follow several important operating principles:

By providing credit support and/or aggregation mechanisms designed to scale clean energy generation and energy efficiency projects, the Green Bank would enhance total market participation.

The Green Bank will partner, rather than compete, with market intermediaries — such as project developers, energy service companies, or financial institutions — that are already making progress in the market, but where that progress is constrained by the lack of availability of reasonably priced financing.

The Green Bank will look to leverage both the capital and institutional capabilities of its private sector partners.

The Green Bank will reduce the need for direct subsidies by earning a return on investments to preserve and grow its capital base, recycling that capital into new clean energy projects when its initial investments mature, ultimately creating a fully self-sustaining $1B support system for the clean energy finance market.

The long-term objective of the proposed Green Bank is to provide a bridge to a sustainable and efficient private sector clean energy financing market.

Upcoming Meetings/Conferences:

May 29, 2014 Technical Conference:

A New York Green Bank technical conference was held on Thursday, May 29, 2014, at the New York State Department of Public Service’s Albany and NYC Offices. The purpose of the technical conference was to allow NYSERDA to present its proposed New York Green Bank metrics, reporting, and evaluation plan and to provide parties with the opportunity to offer input, as required in the Commission’s December 19, 2013 Order.

October 15, 2013 Technical Conference:

A New York Green Bank technical conference was held on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, at the New York State Department of Public Service’s Albany Offices. The purpose of the technical conference was to review and receive comments on NYSERDA’s petition seeking funding for the New York Green Bank.